Overview

I usually sponsors three to five research projects per semester. Recent topics have included a comparison of the quality differences in the odor of the enantiomers of carvone, a comparison of the quality of nasal vs. retronasal olfaction, the comparisons of taste and smell in young and elderly people, the relationship between human nasal anatomy and olfactory ability, the relationship between odors and light on exercise performance in athletes and non-athletes, and the limits of canine olfaction. This latter work explored the minimum number of odor molecules necessary for a dog to identify a human target. Although most of the projects I sponsor deal with the chemical senses, I have also advised projects on volume changes during hemorrhagic shock, the development of a computer program to plot the three dimensional activity of the human heart and the development of a CD to provide health and safety information for SLU students who are planning to study abroad. About 75% of the projects I sponsor result in at least a published abstract.